Super Vlad
by Nonamei Midnight
Summary: After Jack and Maddie invent a machine that can turn evil ghosts good, Danny thought his problems were over. But after firing it on Vlad, Danny now has a new problem, The New Protector of Amity Park...Super VLAD?
1. Chapter 1

It's time for Me thoughts, huh? Well, Just to let you know, This was co-authered by Anne Camp aka Obi-Quiet (You know, the awesome auther of Weakness) and me, so some of it is her twisted ideas, and some of them are mine...But if you can spot the ones that are mine, and the ones that are hers, you are good!

Danny Phantom isn't owned by me(Sniff, so sad.). It's owned by Butch Hartman(All hail to the creators of the world!) and Nick, who shows the show in the first place. But they're cannneling it, so they are pains anyway...

Anyway, Super Vlad...Yeah, Have fun with Vlad Masters as a good guy...and by the way, yes, Plasmius IS wareing a bedsheet. Deal with it!

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Ch 1

Danny Fenton didn't drift peacefully to consciousness this particular morning like he normally did on Saturdays, nor was he simply woken...he was jolted. The electroshock therapy of waking up still didn't cause him to register much more than the fact that light seeped through the blanket he'd thrown over his head; that and he heard his father's deep voice booming from outside his bedroom disturbing the peace of the house.

"Danny! Son! It's finished! I've finished the Reverser! I've done it!"

Danny felt a cold knot begin to form in the bit of his stomach. He had long since grown to fear those words. It meant another of his parents crazy but dangerous ghost weapons had just been completed, and his dad had probably put off just about everything (including a shower) to come and show his children. Vaguely Danny wondered if (and half hoped that) he was still dreaming, seeing as this had started to look like one of his old nightmares…the ones he'd had the first couple of months after the first large-scale, ectoplasmic device his parents had built had backfired and turned their only son into a half-ghost.

They still didn't know. It wasn't like Danny didn't want to tell them, but he did want to wait for the right moment, but for some reason, that particular but vague point in time never seemed to arrive.

The sound of a weapon powering above his head suddenly caused his eyes to snap open, and that quickly Danny went from sleep to wake like a swimmer shooting to the surface for air, breaching wake and his bed covers in the same movement. "Dad, don't! You know how dangerous those things are!"

Jack Fenton, clad in a bright orange jumpsuit and a huge smile, waved a rifle-like device above his son's rather messy head. "Danny, don't be silly! This ray doesn't do anything to humans, just ghosts! Here! I'll show you!" he said, as he flipped a switch that looked scarily close to a safety lock. That small movement made Danny move for the edge of the bed opposite of his father so quickly, he ended up looking up more than a little awkwardly from the floor and a tangle of sheets in horror as his father grinned down at him. He had to stop his father from activating the device, or it seemed more than a little likely that at least the rest of the morning would be spent trying to recover from whatever pain the weapon decided to inflict upon ectoplasmic beings.

"Dad! Don't wave that thing around so much! It'll hit one of my models!"

Jack paused and looked around at the posters of rockets and satellites adorning the walls and ceiling, each with a different model (mostly half-finished) next to or below them, as if seeing them for the first time.

"I still don't get why you like all this space stuff over ghosts," the older man muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "Besides, I gotta show this to you, Danny!"

"Dad!" Danny finally untangled himself from the sheets and forced himself unsteadily to his feet. "The last time you came charging into my room to show me one of your inventions, it took me forever to grow my hair back! Besides," the teen took a deep breath, obviously still trying to calm himself down from the adrenaline rush he'd just received, "don't you need a ghost to show me how it works?"

Jack frowned down at the bright green and stainless steel object in his hand. "I just wanted to show you how to work it in case a ghost showed up," he said, his voice dropping several notches and taking on a disappointed tone.

Danny hated that tone.

"Dad," he immediately said, trying to repair his father's broken spirit, "You've showed me how to power up and work every weapon you've ever come up with. Is this one different?" Danny doubted his father could have looked more offended. Well, there went the idea of trying to fix everything.

"Of course it's different," he looked down at the weapon again, this time protectively.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck, trying unsuccessfully not to show annoyance. "Well, then show me where the trigger is so I'll know, and then I can go back to bed, kay?" He realized exactly how much he hadn't done to improve the situation when his father sighed, nodded with a slight glare directed at his offspring, pointed to a small switch before turning on his heel and sauntering out of the room, his nose stuck firmly in the air, obviously still more than a little offended.

"Nice job, Danny," he heard a voice from the doorway a few seconds after his father's large mass had cleared it.

"Jazz," he warned as his older sister walked in the room, just finishing brushing her long, red hair. "Who knows what that weapon'll really do to me? And I really didn't want to find out, especially not on a Saturday morning."

Jazz sighed. "You could use a little more tact."

"I'm going back to bed," Danny grumbled under his breath.

"You don't even know what that weapon does, do you?" Jazz asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Danny rolled his eyes. "Didn't I just say that?"

"I mean, what it's supposed to do," Jazz waved her hand as if to brush something annoying away from her face.

"No," Danny muttered, yanking his sheets into a vague position that resembled something he could sleep on and began working on the top sheet and the blanket.

"Well, you weren't the only one that got dragged out of bed this morning," Jazz grumbled, stifling a yawn. "It's supposed to take negative ectoplasmic energy and reverse the charge, making it positive instead."

"It's what?" Danny stopped trying to smooth out his blanket and looked in half-horror, half-amazement at his sister. "You sound like mom."

Jazz's eyes narrowed dangerously. "It's supposed to make an evil ghost good."

"Why couldn't you just say that to begin with?" He murmured, going back to half-making his bed. Jazz growled under her breath and walked out of the room muttering something that sounded like "why couldn't I have had a little sister?" under her breath. Vaguely, Danny wondered what had made her so cranky all of a sudden. She normally had a little more patience than that with him.

"Bad day," he yawned to himself and plopped back down on the bed, hoping beyond hope that he could catch just another hour of sleep before he had to get up.

-----

"Bad day," Vlad Masters growled as he slammed the phone receiver down on his desk before massaging his temples with manicured fingers. "Oh, Fudge Nutters!" he cursed. Being a billionaire and a half-ghost always had it's advantages, but they had their extreme disadvantages too. Especially because he'd used his powers to get where he currently was financially. That raised questions as to why people suddenly signed things over to him when they'd vowed they'd never sign anything away to anyone, let alone why they would do so for the prices that they usually agreed to, among other things. All of those piled on top of the allegations and typical problems with running a business (or several businesses) plus being mayor of the town of Amity Park.

Sometimes, he just hated his life.

In this particular case, a few skeletons in his closet he'd been hoping to keep secret from the public had been accidentally uncovered by hot-shot reporter. Now he'd have to overshadow several people and pay off what seemed like a million others to re-bury everything. Not that he didn't have the money, but still, it was the principle.

Of course, he could make it so that the last part of his "business" took him to his favorite part of town where he could see his beloved, among other things that usually brought his mood up, like trying to convince a certain 15-year-old half-ghost to become his apprentice...

A sadistic grin began to creep across his face as he paged his secretary, telling her to reschedule a few of his appointments because of some things that had popped up suddenly. With the same smile still splitting his head almost in half, he put down the phone and looked out toward the large space-ship like structure, barely visible in the distance.

"I wonder how Daniel is today."

He's a Phantom. 

_Danny Phantom._

_Young Danny Fenton, he was just 14_

_When his parents built a very strange machine._

_It was designed to view a world unseen._

_He's gonna catch 'em all 'cause he's Danny Phantom._

_When it didn't quite work, his folks they just quit,_

_But then Danny took a look inside of it._

_There was a great, big flash,_

_Everything just changed_

_His molecules got all rearranged._

_Gonna catch 'em all 'cause he's Danny Phantom._

_When he first woke up, he realized_

_He had snowy white hair, and glowy green eyes._

_He could walk through walls, disappear and fly,_

_He was much more unique than the other guy._

_And it was then that he knew what he had to do,_

_He had to stop all that ghosts that were coming through,_

_He's here to fight for me and you!_

_He's gonna catch 'em all, 'cause he's Danny Phantom,_

_He's gonna catch 'em all, 'cause he's Danny Phantom,_

_He's gonna catch 'em all, 'cause he's Danny Phantom._


	2. Chapter 2

This is kinda like the Me thoughts, huh? Well, This was written with Obi-Quiet, aka Anne Camp as co-auther, so some of it is my twisted thoughts, and some of them are hers...

I don't own Danny Phantom(But it would be cool if I did.) So all prase at the creation of such an awesome chars in the first place should do to Butch Hartman. (He's so cool.) And Nick, who shows the show in the first place. (But they suck, 'cause they're takeing it off the air. Nick you stink!) Anyway, On with the show!!

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Ch 2

"Danny, think about it!" Danny sighed, his eyes set firmly on the stairs he walked down, trying unsuccessfully to ignore his best friend's remarks from behind him. He hadn't been able to get back to sleep that morning, mainly because his friends Sam and Tucker had decided to drop by 20 minutes after Danny had tried to get back to sleep. "Do you have any idea how this could help you with ghost hunting?" Tucker persisted.

"I'm not gonna go out and hurt some ghost because Dad says some weapon he built will do…whatever. That's something Plasmius would do. Not me."

"Didn't your dad say it wouldn't actually hurt ghosts, though?" Sam pointed out before continuing, "But I still don't like the idea."

Danny stopped and turned to glare at the other two. "It's the principle, guys! And since when do his inventions always do what he says they're supposed to?"

"More than 60 of the time," Tucker responded haughtily. Danny shook his head and resumed walking, slightly freaked out that the techno-geek had figured it out to a percentage, let alone that he could remember it off of the top of his head. "Come on, Danny," he started up again, "at least consider it. The odds are in your favor."

Danny shook his head. "I'm not gonna do it, Tuck. I don't see why you want me to so much."

"Because it could stop ghost attacks almost completely, and my grades have been suffering lately," Tucker whined. "My parents said if I don't bring my grades back up, that I'm grounded from all technology that doesn't have to do with school for a month! A MONTH!"

"Your grades?" Danny scoffed. "My grades have been in the toilet since the accident!"

"Yet another reason to try it out!" Tucker pointed out. Sam smirked, acknowledging that Tucker had scored a point.

Danny sighed and smacked his forehead. "Guys—"

"Just try it," Tucker interrupted. "Try it on one ghost. If it doesn't work then…"

"Then who knows what will actually happen to that ghost?" Danny shook his head. "And I'm NOT going into the ghost zone to try it out."

Tucker's jaw set in determination. Sam shook her head. Tucker could be just as hard-headed as Danny when he wanted to be. "Fine," he said, "but what about the next ghost that decides to attack the town? You can't tell me they wouldn't have it coming." Danny paused, taking his friends words into account.

"Wait," Sam suddenly spoke up, "you're not actually considering this, are you?"

"Well," Danny admitted sheepishly. "Tucker does have a point."

"Yes!" Tucker grinned in triumph. Sam opened her mouth to say something , but stopped when she noticed a blue mist coming out of Danny's mouth.

"Looks like we can test it now!" Tucker grinned and thrust the weapon in to Danny's hands, despite it's rather large size.

Sam's purple eyes narrowed. "You had it the entire time?" Danny looked up, his own shocked glare mirroring the Goth's question.

Tucker shrugged, "Just thought you could use it."

Danny sighed. "Fine, whatever. I'm gonna go take care of this. I'm Goin' Ghost!" he raised his hands into the air and two bright-blue rings formed around his waist and split, transforming black-haired, blue eyed Danny Fenton into white-haired, green-eyed Danny Phantom.

"Go get 'em, man," Tucker beamed. Danny shot a look at Sam who shook her head and muttered what Danny had obviously been thinking.

"This has 'bad idea' written all over it."

-----

Danny flew over the next few city blocks, guided by his ghostly breath, making sure to fly slowly enough so Sam and Tucker could at least see where he was going and follow. He felt the weight of the Fenton Reverser strapped to his back, and sighed, still not happy that he'd even agreed to take it. He would "forget" to take it home if the situation presented itself, and he had any say about it. And if forgetting it meant "accidentally" dropping it into a near-by dumpster…well, his father could always build a new one, right?

It didn't take them long to find the ghosts that had set off his natural "ghost detector".

"We can't set up here anymore," a female voice caused him to stop, floating in mid-air and wondering exactly where the voice originated.

"Why not?" a fairly whiny male voice responded. "We just need to stay away from that stupid half-ghost kid."

"Aw man," Danny muttered to himself. He had a pretty good idea who these ghosts were now.

"Didn't you hear?" the first voice answered. "Plasmius is RUNNING the town now. Between the two of them, we couldn't possibly stay hidden for long enough."

The second voice hesitated as Danny floated in the direction he thought the voices came from. "Hmm, why don't we strike a bargain with Plasmius. It's not like we haven't before."

"I heard he hasn't been in the best mood lately," the woman answered, dryly. Danny landed on the street near an alley and peeked around the corner. Sure enough, there stood a tall, fiery-haired woman in an oddly-colored business suit and sun-glasses next to a much shorter man with gray-hair. They looked oddly out of place in the alley near the large dumpster that had been put there.

"It's not like your new idea will give him problems," Bertrand responded. "It shouldn't take long to imitate the proper paperwork and get you into that lawyer position in Amity Juvenile Hall. He might even consider it a benefit to society with you putting away all of those 'repeat offenders'."

That comment spurred Danny into motion, and before he really realized what he was doing, he'd loosened the strapped the Fenton Reverser and pointed it in their direction, stepping into the alley opening.

"You know, you two argue like a married couple," he said, causing both specters to whip their heads in his direction. "And those kids have enough problems without people like you giving them more," he growled, his countenance darkening with the thought of them screwing with the minds of kids who probably needed help the most.

"Well, if it isn't the loser," Bertrand matched Danny's tone. "What happened to that diaper we gave you the first time. It looks better on you than that pathetic spandex."

"Now, Bertrand," Spectra said calmly, taking a few steps forward. "That's no way to treat someone who's going to be in the hospital very shortly."

"Not if we can help it," he heard Tucker's panting voice come up behind him, accompanied by Sam's heavy foot-falls. "My friend is not going to a…" he paused and gulped, "hospital!"

Spectra's look of confidence wavered, if only slightly when she saw the trio, but she recovered quickly and turned to Bertrand. "You take the side-kicks, and I'll take the thorn."

"With pleasure," Bertrand grinned and suddenly disappeared.

"Guys, watch out," Danny had time to mutter before he heard Sam grunt. He turned around just in time to see her reel from the punch of a large, green…creature.

Tucker looked horrified. "Dude, The Bulk looked way better than _that_!"

Indeed Danny realized that the creature Bertrand had morphed into was a poor imitation of the famous comic-book hero. He took a step forward, only to feel a hand on his shoulder, restraining him, just as a wave of despair seemed to wash over his being. He turned his head to see Spectra, now in her black, shadow-like ghost form.

"I don't think so," she growled through sharp teeth.

Danny twisted out of her grasp, instantly feeling better. "What happened to your 'perfect body'?" he asked. "Take it out for cleaning and forget to bring it back?"

"What happened to your powers?" she retorted, her voice taught and dangerous. "Since when did you become so weak you had to depend on weapons?"

Any sympathy for what would happen to ghosts he used the weapon on suddenly dissipated, and he felt a grin touch his lips as he pulled the trigger. "Since my parents came up with a ray that could do this." Spectra tried unsuccessfully to dodge the surprisingly large beam, but her left arm caught the green energy, and that quickly it enveloped her entire body.

She didn't scream or yelp or even call for help. She merely gasped, her eyes wide with shock and fear.

"NO!" Danny heard Bertrand's voice before what sounded like the Fenton Thermos. He released the trigger and stole a look at his friends just in time to see the shape-shifting ghost get sucked into the ghost trap named after his parents.

Then he turned his attention back to Spectra, who had collapsed onto the ground as soon as Danny's finger had left the mechanism initiating the beam. She had a hand on her head, as if trying to stop the world from spinning too quickly, looking almost too dizzy to continue sitting.

"Do you thing it worked?" Tucker asked, taking a step forward.

"How should I know?" Danny asked, never taking his eyes off of the ghost.

"How long do you think we'll have to wait to know?" Sam limped cautiously up to them.

"You okay, Sam?" Danny suddenly noticed his best friend favoring one of her legs.

Sam sighed. "I'm fine, Danny."

"You really should get that looked at." All three of them stopped, their eyes wide. That had come from Spectra.

"Excuse me?" Danny blinked.

The ghost had reverted to her human disguise and stood a little uncertainly, looking over at the teens with what almost looked like…genuine concern…

"That could easily be a sprain, or a bruised bone," the red-haired woman explained. "I mean, I could fly her to the hospital—"

"The WHAT?" Tucker gulped, jumping in front of Sam protectively. "We're not falling for your hospital trick again!"

"No, to have her leg looked at, " Spectra explained, "I was only trying to help."

Yet again, Danny couldn't keep the shock from his face. "You? Help? Yeah, right."

"No, really," Spectra insisted. "How can I help?"

"Uh…" Danny looked around uncertainly. "You could stop trying to make people feel depressed and miserable."

Spectra looked up, thoughtfully, before a large smile crossed her face. "You know, you're right."

"I what?" Danny looked down at the weapon in his hands. "Wow…it really does work."

"Told ya," Tucker muttered, his eyes still not trusting, and fixed on Spectra.

"So, isn't it time that we all go to the hospital?" Spectra insisted.

"No," Tucker responded a little too quickly.

Danny looked over at Sam, who shook her head firmly. With a sigh, he stepped forward, "No. My sister will know if it's serious or not."

"You shouldn't trust your health to an armature," the older ghost muttered with a shake of her head.

Trying to ignore the absolute irony, the half-ghost responded, "If it is serious, we'll take her to someone who knows what they're doing, okay?"

Spectra still looked wary, but finally nodded her head. They stood like that for several minutes until Sam cleared her throat and broke the silence. "So...now what?"

"Uh," Danny looked down at the thermos now holding Bertrand. "How about we take him back to the portal." He looked up at Spectra, almost apologetically. "And...er, you too."

"Of course," Spectra nodded immediately. "I was just going to suggest that anyway."

"Right," the trio said at the same time, each with a similar large smile pasted on their faces.

"If you don't trust me, then tell me: Is there something I can do to prove my sincerity to you." Again, the trio exchanged glances.

Finally, Danny shrugged and held out his hand with the thermos in it. "Take him back to the Fenton Portal, and let him out into the ghost zone when you get there."

"Danny!" Tucker hissed. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Tucker's right, Danny," Sam agreed hastily.

Spectra, on the other hand, grinned widely. "Excellent. You three have a wonderful day." And with that, she zipped over to Danny, grabbed the thermos, and had disappeared through the nearest wall before anyone could say much of anything.

"Now let's go see if she does," Danny said, grabbing his best friends by the wrists and dragging them right after Spectra.

They didn't notice the other figure above them who happened to catch sight of them just before they vanished into the brick lining the alley.

"What have we here?" He asked himself quietly. "A ghost stealing the pathetic ghost-trap. This should be intriguing." He didn't hesitate to follow the trio through the wall, leaving an empty alley way in his wake.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

"Glad you all were here to see me off," Spectra grinned happily with a clap of her hands and stepped into the swirling vortex that separated the human world from the ghost zone. "Have an excellent day!" The yellow and black doors of the Fenton Portal closed, dousing the basement-turned-lab in a fair amount of darkness now that the eerie glow from the porthole had been doused.

"Okay, that was just weird," Tucker muttered, still in a mild shock. Sam nodded with a slightly more amazed expression on her face.

"It was your idea," Danny retorted as he slipped the strap hooked to the now empty Fenton Thermos around his head, allowing it to rest across his shoulder. He'd detransformed before entering the house, and now stood, slouched and fairly thoughtful while he looked at the weapon in his hands.

"Yeah," Tucker agreed, "but it was still weird."

Danny turned to his two friends. "Okay, so…what now?"

"'What now' what?" Tucker asked. "Come on! It worked! We can go out and—"

"For how long?" Both Danny and Tucker glanced over at the black-clad girl with questioning looks on their faces. She sighed. "How long do we know this will affect the ghost? Did your dad tell you?" Danny shook his head. "Okay and what if there are other side-effects."

"Like what?" Danny said.

Sam's expression turned dry. "Like they start growing weird scales all over their bodies, or they lose all their hair, or they suddenly get sick, or—"

"Alright, alright," the half-ghost held up his hands, "I get your point, and I agree. We probably shouldn't use this on anyone else unless we have no other choice."

Tucker looked immediately crestfallen. "Yeah, like that'll ever happen." Danny didn't answer his friend. Instead he shouldered the Reverser, and started upstairs.

"Cheer up, Tucker," Sam said, putting a hand on the techno-geek's shoulder, "we can get your grades up."

Tucker set his mouth in a firm line, and folded his arms in a pout. "Yeah, right."

"We could set you up with the Cram-tastic 3000," Danny suggested from the top of the stairs.

"Can't remember any of it after a week," Tucker mumbled. "Besides, I ace every test. It's the stupid homework assignments that I don't turn in that kill me."

Sam's own face turned thoughtful. "You know, my own grades haven't been the best lately either. Maybe we should take a few days off."

Just as she spoke, Danny's breath became visible. His look darkened as he turned to face the direction the ghost came from.

"Tell that to the ghosts."

"Yeah," Tucker agreed, "'Hey, Skulker, we kind of need to work on our every day life. Could you lay off for a week or so when we'll be totally unprepared and won't be on the lookout because we won't have time?"

"Maybe we can turn off the portal, or something," Sam responded with a snap. "Ever thought of that?"

"Guys!" Danny caught their attention, and they looked up the stairwell at him. "Could we do this later? Right now, I'm goin' ghost!"

Sam and Tucker watched their friend transform before exchanging a glance, and a nod and running up the stairs, reaching the top just in time to see Danny disappear through the wall.

"Five, four, three, two—"

"Plasmius!" Danny growled.

"Ah, Daniel. You're early."

If Danny could have put any more loathing into his expression, he would have. "Don't' you have a puppy to go kick somewhere across town and away from me?"

A vicious, shark-like smile appeared on Vlad's face, which only accentuated the white fangs against the pale blue skin. "Why would I waste my time with a silly dog? I'm far more important than that. Besides, I have you as a thorn in my side. Why upgrade?"

"So what is this? 'Quality time with my arch nemesis' hour?" Danny growled.

"Arch nemesis? You?" Vlad snorted non-chalantly. "Hardly. Remember, I barely consider you a threat, although I'm flattered you think so highly of me." Danny responded by shooting a large, green beam from his hand toward the figure floating in the middle of the street. Vlad dodged easily. "Temper, temper, Daniel. Violence is not the answer."

"Yeah?" Danny asked, "Tell that to my fist." With that he launched forward, fist extended. Vlad simply yawned and reached out to grab Danny's wrist, clamping one hand over the younger ghost's white glove. However, instead of allowing that to stop him as he usually did, Danny used his forward momentum to swing under the arm (wincing in slight pain from the tight, awkward position) and landed a hard kick in Vlad's chest, sending him flying into the building wall behind him.

Vlad grunted before his sadistic smile returned. "You're actually getting better, Daniel. Perhaps I should change your title from 'almost threat' to 'minor threat'." Danny growled in frustration, wanting desperately to wipe the fanged grin off of the other's face.

"No witty retort?" Vlad teased, circling Danny, who also fell into his own circling pattern.

"It's not like someone as old, alone, and cat-less as you are would understand anything I had to say anyway," Danny shrugged, his own smile taking on a tone of challenge. He then lunged at Vlad again, shooting ectoblasts from his hands. Vlad merely conjured a reflective, wall-like shield that sent the beams in all directions, causing Danny to pause and dodge his own blasts.

Vlad took that moment of pause to rush forward and punch the teen in the gut. Danny grunted, and doubled forward in pain.

"My mind is far more capable of understanding anything than yours will ever be as long as you insist on taking after your idiot father."

Danny opened his eyes, the green, ectoplasmic irises burning in anger. "Better him than you!" With that, he threw all of his weight into an uppercut that Vlad hadn't seen coming, and for the second time that day, the Mayor of Amity Park found himself meeting one of the buildings he governed over up close and personally, as in "let's switch body parts for bricks" kind of personal.

"Hmm," Vlad groaned, "it seems that my mood must have taken out a great deal of my clarity of thought. Much more than I had figured if I'm losing to you."

"Give it up, Plasmius, and go back to that lonely office building you moved into." Danny said, coming up to float before the older half-ghost.

Vlad's grin returned for a third time. "You should know by now, Daniel, that I never go into any sort of battle without a back-up plan."

"Back up—AAAAAAA!" Danny yelled in pain as a small device suddenly appeared in Vlad's hand, and was thrust into Danny's chest. He convulsed as what felt like a billion volts of electricity rushed through his body. He felt the change back to human come, but found himself unable to prevent it. He continued yelling as he fell behind some garbage cans just as he finished detransforming.

Weakly, he pulled himself into a half-sitting position, and looked up at a smirking Vlad Plasmius. "Plasmius Maximus," Danny groaned. Absently, he rubbed his chest where the instrument that nullified a half-ghost's powers for at least three hours had been thrust.

"You really should learn to plan for every contingent, not that you'd even know what that means," Vlad laughed, crowing in triumph.

"So should you," Danny managed to grind out as he reached behind his back and pulled out the large, elephant-like rifle weapon.

"This should be interesting," Tucker muttered to Sam from behind the porch where they had taken refuge as soon as they'd exited the house.

Vlad realized what was about to happen just as a large, green ectoblast came from the nozzle. His eyes grew wide when he realized that he couldn't dodge it in time (although no one could say he didn't try), and then the world was washed in a bright-green light before it all faded to black.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

Danny looked around the empty street before running back towards his friends, leaving a detransformed and obviously unconscious Vlad in a crumpled heap on the side-walk.

"You guys okay?" he asked.

"I don't think he even noticed us," Tucker acknowledged his friends concern with a reassuring nod.

"Doubt it," Danny muttered.

Sam shook her head with a half-smile. "Danny, we're fine."

"Now that we've established that, what are we going to do with him?" Tucker asked, pointing past Danny. The trio turned their attention to a groggy-looking Vlad who seemed to be having trouble sitting up.

"I'm up for dragging him into the middle of the street," Danny grumbled. "And leaving him there." Sam shot Danny a dirty glare, causing him to sigh. "Sorry."

"We should at least make sure he's okay," she said uncertainly.

"Yeah," Danny mumbled, "from way over here." Tucker nodded in enthusiastic agreement.

Sam rolled her eyes again. "Fine, I'll go do it."

"Maybe that's what he wants!" Danny grabbed her arm and held her back. "I don't have my ghost powers right now, remember!"

"So?" Sam shrugged out of his grasp and cautiously approached the figure of the older man.

"Sam," Danny called out warily.

Sam turned to face her friends, still sporting a rather nasty glare. "I didn't think you were the kind to--"

"OUT OF THE WAY!" a screaming voice interrupted her, and that quickly, Vlad Masters had risen and tackled Sam.

"Sam! NO!" Danny started forward, only to realize that Tucker had a hold of his shirt. "Tucker! Sam's in--"

"Dude, he just saved her!"

"What?" Danny looked back just in time to see the tail-end of a large truck turning the corner. "He just...wait...WHAT?"

o o o

Vlad Masters sat on the Fenton's fairly-worn couch next to a blathering Jack Fenton, staring ahead thoughtfully. For the first time in years, he was sitting beside his ex-best friend, aka the "big idiot", and he felt almost no contempt or jealousy. He still had feelings for Maddie, but...they just didn't seem quite as important now. He couldn't figure it out.

What had Daniel hit him with?

He remembered the strange shock of the ecto-beam that he had been unable to dodge, and then he'd woken up to see his young adversary's best friend about to be flattened by a rather large truck. He hadn't even thought at the time; only acted. He'd saved her life, and he was positive the look of shock, amazement and even a hint of thankfulness on Daniels face would remain suck in his memory until he died.

And he liked it...

Or, at least he thought he did.

"...and so I was just telling Maddie that I couldn't find the Fenton Reverser when you walked in!" Jack finished his rather one-sided conversation with a slap on Vlad's back. "Thanks, Vladdie."

"I didn't bring it back, your son did," Vlad nodded in the general direction of the blank-faced trio, who sat across from them in random chairs.

"But you escorted him," Jack pointed out. Can I do no wrong in his eyes? Vlad wondered incredulously. He'd done so many horrible things to him...to the whole family really, and they had just turned a blind eye...except for Daniel of course, and later Jasmine.

Apparently Jack noticed (for once) his friend's subdued mood and looked cautiously at his white-haired friend. "Vladdie, you alright?"

He stood up, more quickly than he would have liked to, "I'm fine. I just have to get back to the office. Mayor duties and all." A voice in the back of his mind seemed to suddenly pipe up after years and years of silence, telling him that he just didn't want to be in the house because of the guilt.

"Leaving already, Vlad?" Maddie walked in, a half-hopeful smile on her face.

Vlad hated that smile, when it was directed at him in relation to him leaving, although he loved to see it on her beautiful face.

Well, at least something had seemed to stay the constant. Falling back into old habits, he plastered a smile onto his own face. "Unfortunately, yes, my dear."

"Told you it wouldn't last long," he thought he heard Samantha mutter to Daniel. He would most definitely have to question them later, but for now, he really did have to get back if he wanted to make his meetings on time.

Which was funny, because he normally didn't care about punctuality this much…

With a shake of his head, he turned and walked out, still slightly preoccupied, only vaguely realizing how rude he had just been.

"Well, it did work for a while," Tucker pointed out over the ice-cream cone he held to his face.

"All of fifteen minutes," Sam said dryly.

"Yeah," Tucker retorted, "but the thing is, it still worked."

o o o

Sam, Tucker and Danny sat their favorite ice cream store in the mall, mulling over the morning's events. Sam and Tucker kept arguing about how the machine had worked, while Danny sat unusually quiet to one side.

Vlad had saved Sam's life, right in front of his eyes, and not asked for a single thing in return. Tucker was right, it had worked…until his mom had walked into the same room. The old Vlad had returned almost immediately, it seemed.

He sighed. For a moment, it had looked like Vlad might stop being…well, Vlad. The possibilities almost seemed to overwhelm Danny. He'd never thought of Vlad Masters being an ally he could trust…or a friend. For once, Danny had not seen his nemesis as an enemy or an arch-rival, but as someone he could trust.

He thought about what could happen if Vlad had actually stayed good. Two half-ghosts fighting to save Amity Park would most definitely be a credit to the town. But more than that, Vlad could be someone he could go to for advice and help, someone to take over a bit of patrol so he could get his grades up, someone to help him on the really hard battles.

A friend. A true friend.

He'd never allowed himself to think of Vlad as anything other than an enemy. Truthfully, it hadn't crossed his mind since the trip to Wisconsin. He wouldn't join Vlad at this point. It had never even been an option in his mind because he could only see one or two outcomes for that (Jazz had been rubbing off on him again!), and none of them were favorable.

The possibility of Vlad joining _him_ had also never crossed his mind, just because the odds of that happening compared to Danny cheating again, or the Ghost King awakening again…something close to a billion to one. It just wouldn't happen.

"Danny!" He blinked and looked up to see his friends staring at him, concerened.

"Oh, sorry guys," he smiled, realizing that they had called his name a few times. "What?"

"Your ice cream," Sam pointed to the cone he held in his own hand, and he noticed a sticky trail dribbling down the side of he almost untouched, melting cone, making a small, tan-colored pool, with small chunks of cookie dough looking to soon follow the stream of melting ice cream.

"Darn it," he grabbed a napkin and started wiping it up.

Sam leaned forward slightly. "What's wrong, Danny?"

"Nothing," he said absently, concentrating on ridding his skin of the sticky substance.

"Yeah right," Tucker raised an eyebrow.

Danny sighed. "I was just thinking, what would have happened if Vlad had stayed good." He had expected a reaction of some sort, so the total silence from the other two concerned him enough for him to glance up at them. Both the Goth and the techno-geek were looking blankly at their own ice cream, as if they didn't see it at all.

"Oh," Sam said finally.

"Wow," Tucker blinked.

"Yeah," Danny sighed, "but it was nice to have him on our side for a few minutes at least, right?"

"Yeah," Tucker and Sam muttered at the same time, both considerably more subdued then they had been. Danny sighed again. He hated it when his friends got into this mood.

"Look guys," he leaned forward, crumpling the napkin he'd used to wipe the treat off of his skin in one hand absently, "we can't do anything about it. He's Vlad whether he's Plasmius or Masters. We can't go around shooting the stupid ray-thing at him every fifteen minutes, so why worry…well, more than usual." They both looked over at him, still looking skeptical. "So, who's up for video games after this?" he asked suddenly.

Sam and Tucker glanced at each other before breaking out into smiles. "ME!"

"Good," Danny grinned and sat back to enjoy his cookie dough ice cream.

o o o

"Cookie dough ice cream!" Vlad exclaimed, "What's wrong with me?!" He looked at the shop he'd stopped in front of. A large sign emblazoned with the words "Pet Store" had been built between two large hotels (for some reason beyond Vlad's logic), and he had been pacing in front if it since he'd gotten out of his last meeting.

"That's it," he said suddenly, stomping his foot. "I'm going to speak with Daniel tonight!" He turned to walk away, when the animal that had caught his eye to begin with put it's paws on the glass. A calico cat with patches of fur the color of Maddie's gorgeous red-brown chestnut...

"Never," he hissed to himself, and walked away (rather forcibly) from the window. He would not get a pet, let alone a cat! He would not! He could just see the smug grin on Daniel's face. The thought alone made him growl, but not for the reason he thought he'd be upset about. He growled because the strangest thing he felt about the entire situation seemed to be the fact that despite his stubbornness and pride, he did not feel like getting back at Daniel, although he was sure that his "mood change" was the younger hybrid's fault, and undoubtedly had to do with that blast he'd taken from Jack's ghost weapon.

Vlad sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "Why do I have the feeling that this is going to be a _long _week?"


	5. Chapter 5

Ch 5

"So, here," Jazz pointed past Danny to one of the problems he had written across half of his paper, "you'd replace 'b' with the answer to double check and make sure that you did everything right."

"Why?" Danny asked. "You already did the problem."

Jazz rolled her eyes, "not even the best mathematicians get everything right the first time. If the answers don't match up, then you missed something."

"Great," Danny sighed. "I'll probably have to redo half of these problems."

The red-head shook her head with a half-smile. "Don't worry about it tonight, okay, little brother?"

He yawned and tossed the pencil onto his paper. "Okay."

"And no ghost hunting tonight if you can help it too, right?"

"Right." Jazz ignored the sarcasm in his voice and walked toward the door. Danny turned and watched her smile, wave goodnight, and shut the door with a whispered "Goodnight, Danny".

Stretching, Danny got up from the chair and walked over to the closet, only too happy to concede Jazz's point for once. He needed rest, and he knew it. Not that that ever stopped the ghosts from attacking him or drawing him out before.

He'd just started to take off of his shirt when a tap on the glass caught his attention. Pulling his shirt back over the top of his pants, he walked over towards the window, wondering who could possibly be there. It could be Sam, but neither of them had any real reason for her to do that. Tucker wouldn't be that subtle. It couldn't be a ghost, because they'd just phase in and either state their reason for seeing him, or start blasting, so who...

"Plasmius?!"

The older hybrid floated outside of the window in the darkness, looking like he could easily wait until Danny was ready to see him.

Instantly Danny knew it had to be a trick. Plasmius wouldn't do something like that...ever. He made up the rule of barging into Danny's life; room or otherwise. Cautiously, Danny reached up and opened the window, slowly looking around and preparing himself to go Ghost, should the need arise.

"Ah, Dan--"

"What do you want, Plasmius?" he growled.

"I was wondering if I could talk to you. I have a few questions for you."

Danny blinked, completely taken aback. "Okay...talk."

"I didn't interrupt you, did I?" Vlad looked around.

"Like you care," Danny replied, starting to back away.

"Good...are you going to invite me in?" Plasmius asked, sounding perfectly cordial...which was starting to freak Danny out more than if he'd shown up with a giant ecto-bomb in his hand.

Danny shook his head. "No."

"I can understand your hesitation. Very well then," he moved to sit on the window ledge, apparently making himself comfortable now that he'd come into the light.

That's when Danny really started to get scared. "Plasmius...what are you wearing?"

Earlier that day--

"I can't believe it! We couldn't take this company away from these poor people!" Vlad insisted, slamming his hand on the board room table. The heads of the offices stared at him in utter shock, but Vlad didn't care. "If we do, what will happen to those poor children they're caring for?"

For several minutes the board members continued to stare at him, none answering until his vise-president cleared his throat and stood up. "I believe we should reconvene next Thursday. All in favor?"

"EYE!" Every hand in the room rose like lightning. 

"Excellent, I motion to dismiss the meeting,"

"But--" Vlad started, but another chorus of "eye's" followed by a flurry of motion had the entire room cleared in minutes.

That's when the vice president, a Mr. Dixon, walked up to him. "Are you feeling alright, Mr. Masters?"

"Of course," Vlad straightened and tightened his tie. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because this would be a major move for us, for the company, and I dare-say you have never been so...reserved before. Not even on more...extreme cases." The balding business man looked almost concerned for someone who Vlad knew was going to try and take over his company...although he couldn't for the life of him currently figure out why someone would want to be that cruel. He'd had it figured out for months, and now he couldn't follow his own logic.

"You're correct," Vlad said suddenly. "I should be more considerate, and make up for all those poor families I've cheated or robbed out of deals in the past!"

Mr. Dixon's eye widened, obviously in horror. "I'm...going to call an ambulance."

"I assure you, I am feeling quite well," Vlad insisted as he walked out of the room. "Thank you."

Danny leaned against his bed, staring ahead of him, preferring to not look at the figure who still sat in his window and reminded scarily of his (dare he think it?) Father. Either that or (he preferred to think of the other option)"Super Danny".

He shuddered. Why did he have the feeling that this was going to be a LONG week?

"So," he finally said, clearing his throat, "how exactly did you come up with...that?" he pointed to Vlad's new attire.

"Well..."

Vlad stood in front of his walk-in closet, groaning to himself 'I must remember to diversify wardrobe.' He sighed in frustration. How had he ever decided to get nothing but lightly pin-striped Armani suits? What could have possibly possessed him?

'There must be something in here,' he growled, rummaging around. Finally, he found an article he considered livable at the very back, stuffed under one of his older Armani's. He grinned and pulled on the bright red, yellow and pink Hawaiian shirt that he'd won at something or another and just never bothered to get rid of.

And didn't he have some old shorts from his college days up in storage? His grin widened as he rang the bell that would summon a servant. He didn't have to wait long before a maid came in with a fake smile plastered onto her face.

He regarded her for a few moments before he decided he didn't like fake smiles.

"Mailee, is it?" he vaguely remembered interviewing her, hoping he'd gotten the name correct.

"Kailee," she responded with a bob of her head.

"Yes," he returned the nod, "smile. I just raised your salary."

Her eyes widened in surprise, then disbelief. A priceless look that he'd just decided he liked. Before she could express her thanks (or start blubbering like an idiot), he gave her instructions as to how to find the old box he'd brought along in the move from Wisconsin. Still in a daze, she wandered out of the room. Not twenty minutes later, she came back with the box that even still had a large, if faded "Wisconsin State University" label stamped on the side of it.

"Excellent!" Vlad grinned. "Why don't you take the rest of the night off, paid." At this, the maid's face resembled the looks he'd received earlier from the boardroom members.

"Er...y-yes, sir," she stuttered, set the box down and backed slowly out of the room.

"Have an excellent night, Miss Kailee!" he grinned and waved at her. She squeaked with eyes wide and dashed down the hallway. For a moment he wondered what could possibly be wrong when he'd given her the night off, but after a few seconds, he shrugged it off and turned his attention back to the box of various clothing and shoes.

It took him a few minutes to find what he'd been looking for, but he couldn't help but smile when he pulled them out of the box.

"Okay," Danny said. "I have to see this."

"Whatever do you mean Daniel...or maybe I should call you Danny. You'd prefer that, right?" Vlad tapped his blue-skinned chin thoughtfully.

"Er...I think I'd prefer 'Daniel'," Danny spoke slowly and cautiously, as if talking to a child with an explosive in his hand. "I just wanted to see your...er...human clothes."

Vlad's fanged grin spread across his face like a spilled can of paint. "Of course, Daniel!" He said, as two black rings appeared around his waist and separated, leaving a very hairy-legged Vlad Masters standing on his window sill in a red Hawaiian shirt and brown shorts obviously from the early 80's and flip-flops to match.

"This is so wrong," Danny muttered to himself before looking back at Vlad (making sure to focus on the older man's face and avoid the clothing, not that it looked bad, it's just Vlad in Hawaiian...). "You still haven't told me how you got that outfit in your ghost form."

"I'm coming to that, my boy," Vlad grinned again and sat down on the window sill a second time, making sure to dangle his legs out of the other side of the window, apparently still trying to not come into the room without permission.

"Plasmius--"

"Call me Vlad, dear boy."

Danny gulped. "Uh...Vlad," he forced out, "just get in here. It's hurting my neck to talk to you over there"

"Why, thank you, Danny!"

Danny shuddered as Vlad continued his story.

Vlad was admiring himself in the long mirror he normally kept in his room to make sure he looked business-like. He liked his new look much more than any pathetic suit. It almost reminded him of the Packers clothes he'd left back in Wisconsin. He'd have to send for them.

Now he would look great whether human or...

That's when it suddenly occurred to him...what about his rather stiff ghost side suit? That would most definitely have to be fixed. Sighing, he sat down in the arm-chair near the window, and looked out of it, past the yellow and cream colored drapes to the city landscape, hoping for inspiration...

That's when it hit him. Yellow. He liked yellow. Not only did it remind him of the Packers (okay, so gold and yellow weren't the same color, he didn't particularly care at this point), but it was a bright, happy and sunny color.

There had to be a clothing store still open at this time! There had to be!

With that, he rushed out of the door in a flurry, his mind vaguely wondering what Daniel's stupid ray/beam thing had done to him.

"I found this at the local super Wal-Store," Vlad grinned showing off his new ghost-suit proudly. "Took a bit of searching, but I found it at an amazingly cheap price."

"I wonder why," Danny muttered sarcastically, his head dropped into his hands, that were thankfully covering his eyes. He didn't prefer to see Vlad Plasmius in a light-yellow, short-sleeved turtle neck and White, khaki shorts...and that was without the strange, wide, blue belt that almost matched his skin color...or the boots. Those fur trimmed, winter boots.

Vlad stroked his gotee. "I should visit that store more often."

"So," Danny cleared his throat. "What's that around your neck?"

Vlad looked down. "Oh, this? I wanted a cape. This is from my old suit, even though it doesn't really match." Danny rolled his eyes at this, "so until I can get a new one, this will have to do."

"I'm just glad it's not a bed sheet." Danny couldn't add any dimension to his voice, instead allowing it to remain as flat as a pancake. This was bringing back way too many memories he'd thought (and hoped) he'd be able to forget.

Vlad cocked an eyebrow at him. "Bed sheet?"

"Oh...nothing," Danny sighed. "Right now, I'm also thankful that those shorts aren't pink."

"Do you think pink would match?!"

Danny felt his stomach knot up and he wasn't sure he'd be able to eat anything for the next few days.


	6. Chapter 6

Ch 6

"So Jack actually invented a ray that works and reverses the ectoplasmic pole energy?" Vlad asked, sounding very much more like the Vlad Masters/Plasmius that Danny knew. Now if he could only understand what the guy had just said.

"What?" Danny asked, scratching his head.

Vlad glanced over at him with a quirked eyebrow. "Undoubtedly you're...father," he hesitated just before the word, but couldn't seem to put any menace into his voice, and continued with a sigh, "believes that all ghosts would have a negative ectoplasmic energy, and so he made the Reverser to...well to put it simply, to make ghosts good."

"Oh," Danny nodded slightly, and then looked back at the white-haired half-ghost. "I hear a 'but' in there."

Vlad nodded grimly. "Unfortunately yes, Daniel. You see, his theory has flaws, because every ghost isn't completely evil."

"You mean, like me," Danny said slowly, suddenly not liking where the conversation seemed to be headed.

"Not to put too fine a point on it, yes."

"So...what would it do to me?"

Vlad's gaze remained steady, but he shifted uncomfortably. "It's really not certain, it could change the energy flow of just about anything having to do with your ghost side, and the results would be far more unpredictable because you are a half-ghost. However, chances are that you would end up...well, like some kind of diabolical fiend. Or worse."

"I'm destroying that thing first chance I get," Danny shuddered, picturing a ghost with flaming white hair and a really nasty Ghostly Wail.

"I'm surprised it works at all," Vlad said thoughtfully.

Danny shot him a dangerous look. "Why? My dad's too dumb?"

"No, it's not that," Vlad shook his head, not even attuned to Danny, "I've been working on a similar device for several months and I haven't been able to attain steady results."

Danny blinked his blue eyes suddenly, "Wait...you have your own Reverser? You were planning to use that on me, weren't you?!"

Vlad looked down thoughtfully, "It seems that all of the bugs were not worked out of this one as well. I do not normally give away information." Danny growled softly, his jaw set firmly. "Don't worry, Daniel. I wouldn't dream of doing such a thing now."

"Yeah," Danny grumbled, "because I got to you first."

That's when a knock on the door caused them both to jump.

"Hide!" Danny hissed. Vlad went invisible just as the door opened.

"Danny?" Jazz's red hair fell around her shoulders as she peeked inside, "I thought you were going to bed."

Danny nodded nervously. "Err...yeah, about that..."

"What happened?" Jazz asked suddenly, stepping into her rooms and placing her hands on her hips.

"Well, Plasmius dropped by," Danny glanced subconsciously over to where Vlad sat invisibly.

Jazz blinked before her eyes narrowed. "What did that fruit loop want this time?"

"Fruitloop," Danny heard Vlad say suddenly, followed by a mirthful chuckle. Jazz, to her credit, didn't jump, but looked around with a slight squeak and wide eyes. "I never realized how hilarious that nick-name is."

Jazz turned her eyes back on her brother. "Danny," she said slowly, "what's going on?"

Danny sighed and motioned for her to take a seat. "Sit down, Jazz. This is going to take some explaining."

"So, you're saying that the Reverser actually worked?" Tucker asked as Danny ushered him into the house just after Sam. They'd been able to come over, seeing it was a weekend and only just after 9:30 p.m. "Excellent!"

"No," Danny disagreed, "not excellent."

"Why not?" Tucker asked. "This way he won't keep coming after you with his stupid ideas about making you join him."

Sam snorted. "Have you ever heard of free will? How about choice? He may be a jerk, but he's still human, and deserves to have that choice."

"Come on, Sam," Tucker said, "with the way he keeps hurting Danny? This is so totally worth it." They entered the room to see Vlad in ghost mode sitting calmly on one of Danny's chairs, grinning like a...well, ghost. "Okay," Tucker said through a slack jaw, "I take it back. Not worth it."

"I'm still going to be trying to erase that from my nightmares for years," Jazz whispered from where she stood near the door.

Danny rolled his eyes, "Jazz, _I'm _going to need therapy after this."

"Is it honestly that vile?" Vlad asked, looking down. "I thought it looked rather good."

"Hence the reason why we moved out of the 80's," Tucker muttered taking a seat on the edge of Danny's bed, as far away from Plasmius as he could manage.

"You know," Vlad looked flatly at Tucker, beginning to speak like the old Vlad, "I don't appreciate being stared at like I'm some sort of science experiment."

"Then stop looking like one," Tucker muttered under his breath so only Sam, Danny and Jazz could hear.

"So," Sam folded her arms, trying to stifle a chuckle, "Why are we here?"

"Um," Danny sighed, "Well, first, I figured you guys would want to know."

"Uh, yeah," Sam rolled her eyes. "But what's wrong with a phone call."

"You wanted to stay home?" Danny asked, raising an eyebrow playfully.

Sam shuddered suddenly, "Point."

"You are all a team, are you not?" Vlad stood suddenly and began pacing with his hands clasped loosely behind his back.

"Well, I guess," Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's why I decided to remain here. It would help give Daniel's story more...what do you teen's call it? Street cred?" Danny dropped his head into his hands, while Tucker winced, Sam raised an eyebrow, and Jazz stared blankly.

Sam stepped toward Vlad threateningly, her look darkening. "We already trust Danny. If he tells us something, we believe him. Something you wouldn't know about."

Vlad looked slightly downfallen for a moment before composing himself. "If that is the case…Very well then, I bid you all a good night. I will be in contact with Daniel if you need me."

With that, all four teens watched as he phased through the wall and disappeared into the night.

"Wow," Jazz muttered softly, "he really has changed."

"Yeah," Danny agreed, shaking his head. "But at least it will get him off my back."

"How long do you think this will last?" Sam asked, her voice matching Jazz's tone.

Danny shook his head. "Don't know. I'll ask Dad tomorrow."

"Wouldn't it be great if it were permanent?" Jazz asked.

"With that outfit?" Tucker scoffed. Jazz shot him a glare.

"So," Danny looked at his friends with a mischievous grin. "Since you're all here anyway, who's up for Video games to celebrate a total lack of Plasmius?"

Jazz rolled her eyes and strode out of the room when she saw Sam and Tucker's faces light up.

"Looks like I'm out of here," she said to herself and shut the door.

"You're WHAT?" Bertrand tried his best to not shriek, and failed miserably.

"Well, the center said they needed volunteers," Spectra blinked over at him innocently...a real innocence, not the fake stuff she normally turned on for everyone.

Bertrand rubbed his chin, "but you've already drained just about everything out of most of the ghost kids in there."

"Precisely," the red haired woman insisted, her expression fading to sadness. "I have to try and fix the damage I did to them!"

Bertrand shook his head. "But, what will you feed on?"

Spectra shrugged. "I don't particularly care at the moment. I just want to help those poor, troubled teens." Her assistant shook his head again, not seeming to comprehend her words.

"Since when?!"

"Since Danny helped me realize what an idiot I've been," she replied thoughtfully. "Anyway, I'll see you later, Bert."

The green-eyed ghost stared after her as she floated toward the door. "Wait, you're going in THAT?" He gestured to what he'd thought she'd just been lounging in, although he had never really seen her "lounge" before. She looked down at the tie-died shirt and faded jeans.

"Why not?"

"What did that kid do to you?!"

"He helped me see the light," she suddenly got a (did he dare think it?) hopeful look on her face. "And I must make amends for my sins!"

"Great," he smacked his forehead, "I am now working for a missionary."

Spectra shot him a dangerous look. "Look, if you don't want to stick around, don't. I'm going to go help at the ghost teen center, whether you approve or not. I do not need your acceptance. Remember who works for whom."

And with that, she opened the door to the office lair they usually worked and plotted in, shutting the door behind her softly, leaving an awed Bertrand in her wake.

"That kid is going to pay..."


	7. Chapter 7

Good morning, Mr. Masters, the older secretary said in a casual, if bored voice that Vlad normally dismissed (seeing as she had proved to be an excellent secretary, even according to his old standards). But this morning, he decided to do something a little different. With what he hoped looked like a pleasant smile, he leaned forward on her desk.

And an excellent morning to you, Ms. Frumple. Again, it was the look on her face that made his entire day. She stopped short and blinked up at him. How is my day shaping up?

It's Sunday, sir, she replied slowly. You have one meeting and the local broadcast tonight on Amity Park crime rates that are not ghost related.

Slow as usual... she eyed him warily. Are you feeling alright, sir?

Vlad grinned. I can honestly say I haven't felt this good in years. He meant it too. He hadn't felt this elated since college.  
and even then it hadn't been this early in the day. I was wondering if that invitation to your Sunday services is still open?

The face she made at that was better than the first.

*****

Danny had just finished his English paper and proudly printed it off, imagining the look on Mr. Lancer's face when he turned the paper in on time for once, when Jazz walked in the room. He instantly knew that his night had suddenly been taken from the look on her face. He sighed sadly, having hoped to surf the net before going to bed early. Maybe even getting in some Doomed 2 .

Danny, she said slowly, you may want to come see this. He looked at her curiously. Honestly, he'd expected something more along the lines of her handing him the thermos and pointing him in the general direction of whatever trouble had cropped up.

Uh, he blinked, okay... He followed her as she moved down the hall, then the stairs and into the living room where the TV had been left on.

Jazz pointed at the television screen, where a news cast had been broadcasting.

Wait, he said, isn't that the meeting Plasmius was supposed to be on tonight? Danny asked.

Jazz nodded, looking very pale.

Danny returned his attention to the television. There seemed to be a lot of general chaos going on, people running around and a frightened camera man (who had obviously taken some sort of cover) taping--

Ghost trouble, Danny said firmly and stood up, preparing to go ghost, when he felt Jazz's hand on his arm. He glanced over at her questioningly.

Keep watching.

Again, noting the tone in her voice, he turned his attention back to the flashing screen. Then it changed to the television studio, focusing on a young woman with strawberry-blond hair.

This is Tiffany Snow, and that is the latest footage we have on the events currently taking place in the Amity Conference Center, where Mayor Vlad Masters had started a broadcast everyone had hoped would not be related to ghosts.

For those of you just joining us, we'll take you to Lance Thunder, who is now standing outside the Conference Center for an update. Lance?

The screen switched to a very angry looking, middle-aged man on the steps of a large building. I'm sick of this! he was saying to someone off-screen. I'm sending a resume to Calif-- he looked over and noticed the camera on. For a second his eyes went wide, and then his face broke into a fake grin.

Tiffany! This is Lance Thunder reporting. As you know, not twenty minutes ago, during the meeting of local crime rates, Mayor Masters started yelling at an unknown entity. Here is the footage taken: The screen switched to a conference where Vlad looked to be taking questions, when he looked up suddenly.

--and I... he faded off and his look darkened considerably. I don't know who you are, but I suggest you leave. Now. Everyone looked curiously at each other before realizing he hadn't been speaking to them. The camera man turned in a dizzying motion, and focused on what Danny instantly knew was the ghost. It looked to be...

Is that a green...duck? he asked Jazz, his jaw going slack. He'd never had to fight that ghost before.

He didn't take his eyes off of the screen, and Jazz didn't answer, so he brushed it off and watched as the Duck smacked it's eyes like a human being, and then stepped forward.

I am the Ectoplasmic Entity that quacks in your head. I am the feathered nightmare that goes beyond spooky! I am-- he suddenly cut off as a pink, ectoplasmic energy blast hit him in the stomach (or whatever ghost ducks had in place of stomachs) and sent him into the wall of the conference room with a very audible thud.

Suddenly Vlad Plasmius floated before him...or at least Danny thought it was Vlad Plasmius. He wouldn't have known if he hadn't already seen his arch-nemesis' new suit.

Is that...what did he do to his hair?! The typical devilish spikes that Plasmius normally favored had been split into several different spikes in an attempt at a more modern hair-style. And where did he get the gel to hold it?

Just keep watching, Jazz said from beside him.

Plasmius folded his arms. You are going to leave.

The duck shook off the daze and looked up with a hurt expression. Ow! Why did you have to do that?

Ghosts don't attack Vlad Plasmius's town!

Danny blinked for a second, taken aback, his what?!

The duck blinked at the other ghost for a second before the words seemed to finally sink in. Wait a second, you're Vlad Plasmius? You look...different. And what are you doing here?

Vlad's eyes narrowed. That is not your concern, or business.

Right, the duck rolled his eyes (which looked more than a little strange). Well, I was hoping to find Danny Phantom, but hey. You'll do.

With that he launched himself at Vlad, green feathers flying everywhere. He moved surprisingly fast for what Danny had passed off as a weak ghost. He attacked Vlad, sending him sprawling into the wall right beside...Vlad.

Vlad Masters still stood firmly on the stage, looking more than a bit surprised at the Duck's attack, glancing between the duck, and Plasmius.

Vlad Plasmius groaned and stood from the indented wall with a shake of his head. It seems I will have to apply more effort to rid this town of you as quickly as possible. With that, Vlad Masters ducked behind a curtain, and suddenly, there were two Plasmius'. They joined into one while the duck watched on in fascination.

Then, Vlad attacked, and the screen cut back to Lance Thunder (who was telling someone that he most certainly was going to turn in an application elsewhere before he saw the camera on).

Yes, folks, that is what happened. It seems that Danny Phantom has a new ally in saving the town, or (according to some) a new enemy.

Danny stood with his jaw hanging down to his chest, suddenly realizing why Jazz had seemed to be in such a stupor. Yeah, he said slowly, as if the announcer could hear him, and that's what worries me.

*****

Wow, the duck croaked from where he'd splatted on the roof-top. It didn't take long for Vlad to realize he'd been taped, and he had suddenly (for some unexplainable reason) felt a little nervous. After that, he'd lured the duck to the roof, and proceeded to kick his feathered behind. You really are Vlad Plasmius.

Vlad scoffed. Please don't tell me you were foolish enough to not believe me. Who would be stupid enough to claim to be me? The duck raised his eyebrows and nodded, conceding the point. Now, Vlad continued, I will escourt you back to the ghost zone.

But, the duck struggled to look up at him, I don't want to go back without facing the ghost boy!

In your condition? Vlad sighed and rolled his eyes, you wouldn't last two minutes.

The duck blinked at the half-ghost for several seconds, before deflating and waving a wing in submission. Very well, he muttered. With a nod, Vlad reached down and picked up the fallen bird by the back of his neck. The duck winced in slight pain, and Vlad subconsciously loosened his grip slightly.

Then he turned them both invisible, and headed towards Fenton Works.

*****

Aren't they going to give an update? Do they even know where they went? Danny growled at the woman on the television. He'd been pacing a hole in the floor since his previous catch up . Jazz sighed from where she sat on the couch with her legs curled under her.

Danny, you need to calm down.

Danny turned and opened his mouth to say something, but saw her look and shut it again. Then, with a sigh, he plopped on the sofa next to his sister. You're right, Jazz. It's not like I can do anything to help if I don't even know where they are. Jazz smiled and nodded, turning her attention back to the television screen, where Tiffany Snow was reporting that the mayor was no where to be found, and wondering if another ghost had decided to attack this one too.

That's when Danny's ghost sense went off...followed by a rather loud crash from the basement.

Of course, Danny sighed and stood up, throwing his fists into the air with a sudden enthusiasm that took Jazz by surprise almost every time. I'm goin' ghost!

I'll be right down, if you need me, Jazz nodded to Danny, who returned the gesture and dived through the floor.

When he phased into the lab, he quickly scanned the room, and his jaw dropped when he saw Vlad Plasmius holding a squirming duck in one hand non-chalantly while trying to open the genetic lock Jack had recently reinstalled.

Danny heard him sigh, I guess I'll have to get Daniel.

Uh...Pl--Vlad, what are you doing? Danny asked as he landed on the ground. Vlad looked over with a slight smile.

Ah, Daniel. Would you mind opening this door for me?

Danny blinked away his surprise. Why?

So I can put this...duck, he raised an eyebrow at the green creature still in his hand, back where he belongs.

Uh...sure? Danny shook his head as if trying to clear it, and walked slowly past the older half-ghost and placed his thumb on the button.

A mechanical voice came over the near-by speaker. Ghost portal to open, it said, Have a nice day, Mr. Fenton.

Without saying a word, Vlad walked over to the opening portal, and quite literally launched a now screaming duck (yelling something about how they hadn't seen the last of him) into the swirling green vortex.

Wow, Danny blinked, I didn't know you had that kind of an arm.

A small smile formed on the older man's face. That's how I got into sports. After a while, I just got to where I liked football better. I appreciate the plays and the strategy more.

Oh, er...right, Danny muttered, suddenly feeling like he didn't know his arch nemesis at all.

I must get back before they start worrying about me, Vlad said suddenly. With that, he brushed something off of his suit, and then flew through the ceiling with a farewell, Daniel .

Danny turned to the stairwell where Jazz stood, a mirrored expression of his own still confused and surprised feelings on her face.

Okay, he said to her, this is just getting weird.

***********************************

Ding-dong booooooooo!

Jazz sighed and got up from the table, wiping her face as she went. Dad s been messing with the doorbell again.

If it s a door-to-door salesman, let me know so I can scare him off, Danny called.

Danny! Jazz and Sam said at the same time, while Tucker grinned and shot him a thumbs up.

They continued to eat the spaghetti for a few minutes, making slight conversation here and there until, Sam turned to look at the kitchen door.

She s been gone a long time, she said, her lips pursing slightly. Maybe we should go check on her.

I will, Danny said. I want to know if she has seconds anyway. Be right back. He left the kitchen, and strode into the front room where he froze immediately. Jazz stood in the entryway quietly talking with the last person he wanted to see at the moment.

They both looked up at him, and their newest guest grinned at him over a very bright pink shirt. Daniel. Just the person I wanted to see.

This cannot be good, Danny muttered to himself and continued to watch the other two warily. And that is so wrong, he added with a shake of his head.

Vlad cocked his head. What was that, my boy? I couldn t hear you.

Uh, nothing, Danny sighed. What do you want?

Er Danny? Jazz spoke up, but Vlad cut her off, stepping forward

I was actually wondering if I could join you when you search for ghosts in town tonight.

Danny felt his face pale and his mind go blank. Uhhh.... What was he going to do now? 


End file.
